Your present from Santa is here two days early, and it's a surprise treat from Amy Poehler, star of screen and screen!
The totally-ready-for-prime-time player—who is married to Arrested Development dude Will Arnett, just became a mom to baby Archie and will be starring in the much-anticipated upcoming NBC comedy from the producers of The Office—got you a web series for Chrismukkah, and she made it herself!
Read on to find out how and why she whipped up the homemade treat that is Smart Girls at the Party and what secrets she's able to spill about her new NBC sitcom!
Actually, before we get to the awesomeness of the Smart Girls, we must discuss The Untitled Amy Poehler Show on NBC, or as we like to call it around here, Amy Poehler, Beyond Thunderdome .
"Amy Poehler, Beyond Thunderdome! Oh my god, I wish we could use that title!" says Amy. Right?!
Amy says of the show, "The show is going to be on in April. We're shooting six episodes, and you know, it's funny that you call it Beyond Thunderdome because it's actually me dressed as Tina Turner in a giant steel cage, and every episode I just yell, 'Two men enter, one man leaves!' "
Oooh, can Rashida Jones wear leather, too? And maybe Aziz Ansari can fight himself! Such a good show this will be!
As for her incoming partners in crime, Amy says, "They're still casting for the other parts. But it's superexciting. I'm thrilled to be working with Rashida and Aziz, and also, obviously, [executive producers] Greg Daniels and Mike Schur, who are the best. So we're just gearing up, and I'm thrilled."
Amy and her family, Will Arnett and baby Archie, are moving to L.A. next month to settle down before production begins in February. L.A. will also be the likely shooting location for season two of Smart Girls at the Party.
If you haven't seen it yet, you can check out one of the episodes above and watch all the rest at On Networks. Smart Girls is a web series created by host Amy Poehler, producer Meredith Walker and musician Amy Miles, wherein they interview girls ages 8 to 13 about the fascinating circumstance of being, well, a regular girl age 8 to 13.
Says Amy, "We just wanted to be good listeners."
Their adorable interview subjects range from the members of the rock band Care Bears on Fire (best band name ever?) to a yogini who shows Amy a thing or two to a young NYC community gardener who has strong opinions on the ecological impact of earthworms (yay!) and beetles (nay!)
Amy tells me that she put her spoofy background to work to make this series extra-valuable: "Our goal is to make it a Charlie Rose show for girls. So I spent hours pouring over Charlie's interview style—oh, and we got a brown wood table." If you take a look at the series you'll see that she totally nailed the Charlie Rose thing.
"It was satisfying to make this little tasty treat," says Amy, and between the adorable girls being themselves and the superfun "dance party!" that wraps each episode, I think you'll find that it's all but euphoric to experience as an audience member.
Go meet the Smart Girls at the Party, won't you? I hear they have more fun...